Marjane Satrapie, in her book Persepolis, states, “I wanted to be an educated, liberated women. And if the pursuit of knowledge meant getting cancer, so be it (73) The oppression of women has been present in several different cultures. While many women in different nations have fought to establish their place in society, several cultures still suppress women with harsh restrictions on their way of life. Well-known authors such as Marjane Satrapi, Bahithal al-Badyia, and (add name here), though born in different eras, all understood the fundamental importance of women
Aristophanes Lysistrata and Homer’s Odyssey both show how women can thrive in their society and fight for what they believe in, even if that goes against the gender roles portrayed in Greek Civilization. In Aristophanes Lysistrata, the author portrays how one woman can fight for what she believes in and make a difference in society. Lysistrata ultimately wanted to end the Peloponnesian War, she knew the only way to do so was to take advantage of the Men. Men were dying day after day because of this war and Lysistrata had enough, she wanted to end it. Lysistrata decided to take a stand; she voiced her plan to
There are many huge roles to be displayed in society all throughout The Odyssey. The Odyssey was written by Homer and located in Ancient Greece. Women like Athena and Penelope play huge roles that initially help Odysseus throughout his struggles. The role of women in The Odyssey is to show how women could be obstacles, be great helpers, and show how they do it by being cunning. Penelope shows in different ways how she is cunning and loyal throughout the book.
In Greek epics, tragedies, and mythology women are portrayed in various ways. Women are mainly considered to be weak and less important than men, but there are some women who are shown to be strong and heroic, despite the reputation that was placed onto them in Ancient Greek civilizations. There were two particular women that were strong and took the roles of their husbands while the men left to fight in the Trojan War. These two women were Penelope, wife of Odysseus, and Clytemnestra, wife of Agamemnon. These two women were different in how they chose to rule while their husbands were at war and how they acted once they got back.
To me, the play seemed to be about reparations for women who have been kept out of politics for a long time. It was also humorous because Aristophanes wrote it to entertain people, however, for me, this humorous aspect made me feel worse. The play is supposed to exemplify how women can hold power as equals with men, yet, this concept is turned into a joke in order to make it easier for the audience to swallow. I can understand that perhaps it is a good way to introduce particularly radical ideas: introducing something through art so that it can be influential without being an outright proposal. I can sympathize with the type of change that Aristophanes might have been trying to invoke, however, it still does not feel right to
What is worth mentioning in Sophocles’ play is that he not only showed the weak side of women but also the strong ones. For example, Ismene is the traditional role of women in ancient Greek—coward, fear of men power and feeble. For Ismene, "we must remember we were born women, not meant to strive with men" (Antigone). She even chose to die with Antigone while hearing her sentence, for she was afraid that she would be alone, she could not be able to fight against Creon, this men-dominant society. In contrast, her sister Antigone presents the “women power”.
Clearly, Sparta and Hellenistic women had more freedom and social rights than Athens women. The reason of how this phenomena occurred might be that at that period of time, Athens had the largest population of Attica. This indicates that the in this male community in Athens, the males could carry on almost all of the responsibilities of a society while the women could just stay at home and serve the men while they took part in public life. However, in Sparta and the Hellenistic era which there were not so much people around, women’s role would be more than simply taking care of household and children, they would need to shoulder some responsibility for their society, which brought along freedom and rights for
The women felt that the war was causing disruption and ruining the unity between the people. Particularly, the main protagonist Lysistrata herself, gathers the power of females in hopes for peace and the reunion of Greece. Although the women initially were dubious about ending the war with a sex strike, it was Lysistrata who brought leadership to the group, encouraging all to contribute their powers for good, as she says, “Our country’s fortunes are in our hands; and whether the Spartans shall perish and the Boeotians shall be completely annihilated” (Aristophane 34-35). During this process, the women were faced with corrupted men, who believed that females should have no participation in the topic of war. Rather than succumbing to the demands of the men, Lysistrata insisted and argued for women to take charge and restore Athens.
Sadly, most of how women lived away from their husbands’ world and how they interacted with other female companionship remains a mystery. Even the Olympic Games were under a males only policy, with the exception of a small event women held in honor of Hera in Olympia . Contrary to most ancient cities and popular belief, some women in ancient Greece were actually able to hold more than just the title of housewife. Although they were still secondary to men, in some Greek city-states, such as Sparta, women held much more freedom and a larger role in society .
Euripides’ The Trojan Women expresses the disbelief and hope of ancient Greek women during the Trojan war. The characterization and dialogue between Hecuba, Andromache, and Cassandra, shows the role of women in society during that time, as well as their different prerogatives towards the war and its consequences. Likewise, The Odyssey by Homer uses the main female character, Penelope, to convey the role of women and their opinions towards the social changes from the war. Both texts, collectively, use dialogue to develop hopeful and hopeless ideas within the women of ancient Greece. Euripides’ The Trojan Women tells the story of three women, Hecuba, Andromache, and Cassandra, who struggle with their lives after the murders of their husbands
The relationships between gender and power in A Doll’s House and Lysistrata ‘One is not born, but, rather becomes a woman’. Lysistrata and A Doll’s House both present the disadvantaged position of women in their respective societies. The two plays present the relationship between gender and power and follow two women who go to extremes to become liberated from the restraints of their oppressive and dominating patriarchal society. Therefore, it is clear that both Nora and Lysistrata demonstrate the potential for women 's power and resistance in situations of male dominance in a hegemonic patriarchy. In order to prove this, it is important to look at the relationship between man and power, woman and power and the ways in which Nora and Lysistrata embody this power in the two plays.
Euripides created an unusual art work that left people mouth-opened. It was criticized and dissed during its time since the audience witnessed a very odd ending. The fact that Medea was really clever and powerful made it different as well. During those times, women had no role in the society. Women were just supposed to serve their husbands and take good care of the children.
Women are weak, helpless, and have no real purpose other than to serve men and take care of children. . . or so they were perceived in history. In the Odyssey, one can see that Homer’s portrayal of women challenges the depiction of women during that time period. Throughout the book, many women intervened in Odysseus’ journey home to Ithaca, for better or for worse. One will see Penelope, Athena, Circe, and other women impact Odysseus’ expedition home.
Though the female characters played pivotal parts in The Odyssey, they also displayed the limited roles of women during Homer’s time. Women were often seen as seductresses and temptations
Introduction The purpose of this essay is to investigate the women’s role in Classical Greece society and literature (5th/4th century b.C.). Therefore, I decided to discuss and analyse one of the most controversial comedies of that time, “Lysistrata” by Aristophanes. This text shows how women, sick of their submissive and powerless position in the political scenario of Athens and Sparta, come on the scene and, through a smart stratagem, achieve their expected result.
